WAUSAU - Teachers, counselors and other staff members at Wausau East High School will be attentive for signs of trouble as the new school year starts just weeks before a former East student is to be sentenced in a gang-related murder.

But Wausau School District administrators say the level of preparation won't be much different than has been the case since a February 2015 street fight left another east-side teenager dead after being stabbed in the back.

Dylan Yang was found guilty of first-degree reckless homicide after killing 13-year-old Isaiah Powell in a clash between two groups of boys. Yang, who was 15 years old at the time, was tried as an adult. During his trial, Yang admitted that he stabbed Powell, but said he believed that the BB gun Powell had was real when Powell and his friends confronted Yang and his. Yang faces up to 60 years in prison.

In the immediate aftermath of the fight, through Powell's funeral and Yang's trial, school counselors and teachers kept in close touch with those affected by the incident.

"We just try to keep communication lines open, develop relationships with the students and their families," said Wausau East High School Principal Brad Peck. "And it's been ongoing since it occurred. ... We're continually working with those students."

Those connections were made with not only those at the scene of the fight, Peck said, but others who knew or were friends with either Powell or Yang, who will be sentenced Oct. 19.

Powell was an eighth-grader at Horace Mann Middle School and Yang a freshman at Wausau East High School. Many of their friends and family members attended those schools and other Wausau School District schools. In March, just a few weeks after the fight, the school district and the Wausau Police Department held open meetings for parents and anyone else interested about how to watch for trouble signs in children. Those meetings also focused on helping parents understand how kids use online social media.

Yang and Powell set the stage for the tragic physical confrontation using Facebook, investigators said.

"We've wrapped services around people who are connected to (Yang and Powell) in some shape or form," said Jeff Lindell, the Wausau School District's director of pupil services.

As events dictate, such as during Yang's March trial or during the time of the controversial late May march in support of Yang, educators "will connect a little more frequently," Lindell said. "(The tragedy) impacts kids in different ways. Some will be deeply affected. And then there are some kids out there who have no idea that the incident happened. So we're measuring our response accordingly."

School district officials also work closely with police to ensure emotions swirling around Powell's death or Yang's conviction do not spur more violence. Lindell said educators connect with other agencies involved in the situation, such as the district attorney's office and the county's Department of Social Services.

"We really try to meet the needs of all our students impacted by the whole process," Lindell said. "And from the district's perspective, our hearts have gone out to both families, and we continue to feel that way. We know it's a very emotional time for both sides. We just continue to think about them and send our thoughts in their direction."